


Sword Art Online: Midnight Winds

by SilentEagle3



Series: SAO: Wings of Glory [1]
Category: Sword Art Online
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Post-Canon, Swords & Sorcery, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-19 09:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8200711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentEagle3/pseuds/SilentEagle3
Summary: In the world of ALO, a quest has appeared to find the powerful sword, Equinox. But to get it, one must locate the maps detailing the dungeons where the two halves of the weapon, the Sunlight and Moonlight Greatswords, are hidden. The bounty hunter Eagle has obtained one of the two maps, but he discovers the other in the hands of a very prestigious group of people. Will he steal the item from them, or accompany them to take the treasure for himself?





	1. Gale Force

Green leaves crunched under Eagle's feet, as he swiftly dashed through the thick forest. The cold night air gave him a strong chill, and he allowed himself to slow down slightly. Behind him, two Spriggan mercenaries led a hot pursuit. They were unfazed by the sharp, icy winds. Darkness shrouded ALO's landscape like a dense fog, but this was not an obstacle for the mercenaries, or Eagle, who was a solo Imp bounty hunter. Both of the parties spotted trees, rocks, and brush ahead of them, long before evasion was necessary. What wasn't so easy to spot, however, was the end of the forest, and the cliffs succeeding it. Eagle leaped out of the brush, but stopped himself before passing over the seemingly endless sky. The Spriggans arrived shortly after. They had their broadswords and kite shields armed, and appeared ready to initiate combat.  
“Hand over that map, Eagle. It's either it or you, and you've got nowhere to run.”  
  
Eagle looked distressed at this revelation. “Yeah... nowhere to run.”  
  
The two Spriggans drew closer.  
  
“But look at all this room to fly!”  
  
This statement caused both pursuer and escapist to activate their wings, and begin a dogfight in the midnight winds. Eagle unsheathed his longsword, and clutched it in a plow stance. One of the Spriggans charged Eagle, pointing his sword downward towards the invisible ground. Eagle predicted an upward slash, and held his sword horizontally to block accordingly. He had guessed incorrectly, as the first Spriggan slashed at Eagle's legs, causing him to lose his flight balance and begin plummeting. To regain control, Eagle produced the flight stick, commonly used by beginners to the flight system, but can be used to force control in situations like this.  
  
Eagle realigned himself with his enemies, and pounced toward the one who had struck him. He activated a sword skill, Radiant Fury, by positioning his sword behind his right shoulder until it began to glow a deep purple. A slash downward, then upward, spinning clockwise to attack rightward, diagonally up and to the left, and ending with three full spins, aimed downward and causing Eagle to be positioned on his side. The Spriggan mercenary blocked the first two attacks, but was locked into the combo as soon as the horizontal slashes began. Eagle observed while he was still frozen from the cooldown, as his opponent's health bar quickly drained to nothing.  
  
“Dammit, you haven't seen the last of me!” He spoke his final words before bursting into a cloud of crystals, leaving behind a small flame to allow his teammate to revive him, had he been able to.  
  
“You killed my partner, now you die by my blade!”  
  
He raised his broadsword above his left shoulder, where it faded to a shade of black, indistinguishable from the twilight skies. Before Eagle could react, the Spriggan launched a sword skill of his own, Vorpal Strike. One powerful thrust, straight through Eagle's heart, causing him to fall out of the air, and watch in horror, as the tables immediately turned on him, and his health bar became emptied. Eagle closed his eyes, and embraced one more death in this volatile MMO. He burst into a dense crystal mass of his own, and was surrounded by a void. The only thing that had form was a menu, asking if he wished to respawn from the last town he visited.  
  
Eagle chose to respawn immediately, cutting the waiting time to nothing, but denying any passerby the chance to revive him, if they wished. He inspected his inventory upon reforming in the floating city of Ryne, to see that his only loss was his weapon. He still had the map containing the location to the Moonlight Greatsword's dungeon. Being in a safe zone, no one could kill him to steal the map, but he was without a method of combat in the first place. Before he could undertake the quest to find the first half of the sword, Equinox, he needed to buy a new sword.


	2. Rising Sun

Eagle had heard not too long ago about a skilled blacksmith in the town, by the name of Lisbeth. If anyone could make him a sword that could match the quality of his last one, it would be her. Eagle asked multiple passerby if they knew the location of her shop.  
  
“Hey, do you know where Lisbeth, the blacksmith, is?”  
  
“Yeah, her store is further down this street, then around the left corner.”  
  
“Thanks a lot.”  
  
Eagle began walking down the street, taking notice of the people around him. Anyone could have the map leading to the Sunlight Greatsword, but it wasn't anyone here. He reached Lisbeth's store with no hassle, and he strolled inside. As he opened the door, he heard a bell chime, alerting everyone in the building. Lisbeth was a Leprechaun, sporting short pink hair and a apron that almost befitted a waitress more than a blacksmith.  
  
In the back area were multiple tables set up as if they sat in a restaurant. A large group of players stared at you for a moment, then continued their conversation. There was a Spriggan, with a long black cloak, and matching black sword. Sitting beside him was an Undine, with blue hair reaching to her ankles. On the Spriggan's other side was a Salamander with a bandana and katana sheath, looking not too far off from a samurai. The other side of the table was occupied with two Cait Siths, one with cyan hair and a bow, and another with brown hair and a dragon on her shoulder. Finally, there was a Sylph with blonde hair and an exceptional bust size.  
  
Lisbeth noticed your silence, and began speaking to Eagle. “Sir? Are you in here for an order?” Even the way she spoke sounded like a waitress.  
  
“Yes, I'd like a longsword forged.”  
  
“Okay, what's the quality you would like?”  
  
Eagle stood silent, thinking about how to respond. “I guess... the best thing you can forge for a level 90 player.”  
  
“So, you've been playing this game for a while?”  
  
“Yeah, a lot.”  
  
“Alright, I'll get started right away!” She ran off to her forge.  
  
Eagle, on the other hand, leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, right next to the door, and began to eavesdrop on the group in the back.  
  
The Spriggan was in the middle of a sentence. “-- That dungeon Saturday evening?”  
  
A smack on the table by the Salamander, followed by a presumed strategy. “We need to send the strongest of us to take on the boss, while the rest of us look for information about that other map.”  
  
The brown haired Cait Sith began speaking now. “But how do we choose who goes?”  
  
The Salamander already had a response prepared. “Easy. Obviously, Kirito and Asuna will raid the dungeon, so that leaves me, you, Sinon, and Lisbeth.”  
  
“Sir? Sir? SIR!?”  
  
Lisbeth's calls snapped you out of your trance, and she was standing in front of you, holding a silver longsword, and a large steel tower shield on her back. Eagle had his arms, back, and legs to the wall, and was blushing a light crimson out of embarassment.  
  
“Are you feeling okay?”  
  
Eagle looked over to the group in the back. They had stopped conversing and were now staring at him. He needed to respond to Lisbeth before anything.  
  
“Y-yeah, I'm feeling fine. Is my sword ready?”  
  
She backed away. “Yep. I brought this shield out in case you wanted to try it out.”  
  
Eagle held the sword in his hands. “Let me see. The grip feels firm, the blade doesn't have any rough edges, and the aesthetic is perfect for me. But now, time to see how it cuts. Bring out the shield.”  
  
Lisbeth retrieved the shield from her back, and the players sitting down put their full focus on him. He held the sword up high, above his right shoulder, until it gleamed a deep purple color. He planned on testing the sword by using his original sword skill, Blossom Dance. Eagle swung the sword diagonally down and to the left, then slashed right, followed that with a double roundhouse kick to the right using his previous momentum, slashed to the right again, swung up and to the left, performed one more roundhouse kick to the left, and finished with a powerful thrust. Both Lisbeth and Eagle checked the condition of the shield, and were quick to notice the many scratches and dents. Eagle exclaimed immediately.  
  
“I'll take it!”  
  
Lisbeth was amazed at your sword skill. “Hold on, what was that skill?”  
  
“Oh, that? It was an original sword skill. I call it Blossom Dance.”  
  
Everyone in the building was staring straight at you, and both the Spriggan and cyan Cait Sith were on their feet. Eagle wasn't exactly accustomed to the attention, and tried to change the subject.  
  
“So... what's the price?”  
  
Lisbeth snapped out of her stupor. “Oh! Of course, I'll ring it up right away.”  
  
She opened a window, where she entered the information about her newly forged sword. The price appeared shortly after, and she sent it to Eagle. He didn't appear too happy about the price, and whispered to himself.  
  
“Damn, there goes my last five bounties. Oh well, I can't deny quality.”  
  
He accepted the offer, and both windows disappeared. The sword appeared in his inventory, and he immediately tried to think of a name for it. “Platinum Veil” was his first thought. After the formalities were taken care of, he tried to leave the building as quickly as possible, but was stopped by Lisbeth's voice.  
  
“Hey, I hope you come back here!”  
  
“You've shown me that you make good wares. Expect my business often.”  
  
Both of them smiled at each other before Eagle shut the door to the shop. He sat down on a bench nearby, and began to think of a strategy for tomorrow.  
“Alright, so they're raiding a dungeon tomorrow evening. It's probably where the Sunlight Greatsword is, so... I should follow them inside. I don't know exactly when they'll embark, so looks like I'm doing a marathon on Saturday. But for now...”  
  
Eagle opened up a window with his left hand, and looked down to the log out option. He selected it, and his vision went black for a moment before returning to the sight of a dark bedroom. Eagle took off his Amusphere, revealing his short black hair. He reached over to his glasses on his nightstand, and placed them over his eyes. Before getting off of his bed, he spoke a few words to himself.  
  
“Alright, Nishoku. Time for a little research.”


	3. Material Gains

The city of Ryne was bustling with player activity, as it had been the day before. Eagle was loitering on the same bench he had logged out on yesterday, pointlessly watching the time. It was one of the rare moments ALO’s time and the real world’s time matched: 3:00 PM. There was still no sign of Kirito or his friends.  
  
Before Eagle had turned in for the night, his real self, Nishoku, had done research on the names he had heard in Lisbeth’s shop. It turned out that Kirito and Asuna were the two strongest players in ALO at the moment, and were survivors of the Sword Art Online incident. Surely a duel with them would prove to be entertaining. Sinon was also a powerful sniper, better known for her avatar in another MMO, Gun Gale Online. Perhaps something to try in the future.  
  
Eagle was slowly becoming more and more impatient. An hour had passed by now, and yet no one had arrived. The only character in the shop was Lisbeth, as usual. From what Eagle saw through a window, he wasn’t the only one getting restless. He thought he could pass the time with some friendly conversation. “Better to earn their trust early.” Eagle thought.  
  
Eagle swung open the door, where, to his bewilderment, no one was there. Not for long, anyway, as Lisbeth sprinted to the desk upon hearing the bell. She didn't seem too happy, for some reason.  
  
“Oh, its you! What are you doing back here?”  
  
“Well, why wouldn't I come back and see a good friend of mine?”  
  
Lisbeth smirked at this remark. “You know me for one day and you're already calling me a friend of yours?”  
  
“Someone's gotta show up. It doesn't look like your other regulars did.”  
  
“They did, and they left.”  
  
Eagle's face went red out of frustration, as he slammed his fist into the desk. “Dammit! I missed my chance!”  
  
Lisbeth backed away in fear and confusion. “Wait, what are you talking about? Your chance?”  
  
Eagle looked up, his face still red, but this time out of embarassment. “That Spriggan! His name... Kirito? I've been looking for the guy, there's something he needs to know!”  
  
Lisbeth turned away in annoyance. “Is that all? If you planned on dueling him, he's busy.”  
  
Eagle tried to calm himself before speaking again. He revealed his inventory to Lisbeth, where she would clearly see the Lunar Map. She opened one eye and turned to Eagle, and then quickly leaned over the table to get a closer look at the item.  
  
“The Lunar Map? You've had it this whole time?”  
  
“Yeah, I was coming to find Kirito and see how I could pay him for the Solar Map.”  
  
“So you're on that quest, too? That explains why you needed a powerful sword.”  
  
“Exactly.” Eagle grinned at the information he was gathering. “I assume he comes here often, so what would it take to buy the map?”  
  
Lisbeth shook her head. “Sorry, but he left on that quest a while ago. When he comes back, he'll have the Sunlight Greatsword, and I doubt he'd sell that for any price.” She put on a smile of her own. “Perhaps if you dueled him and won, but that will never happen.”  
  
Eagle had a choice to make in his line of questioning, so he stayed silent for a moment before replying. “Okay. So I can't duel him. But what would he do if I had the Moonlight Greatsword?”  
  
Lisbeth put her fingers on her chin. “Actually, I'm not sure about the answer to that one. I assume you're about to go find out?”  
  
“Yep. I'll go raid the Crescent Sanctuary, and see what he does then.”  
  
Lisbeth started walking back to her forge. “Then good luck to you. Need anything repaired or forged before you go?”  
  
“How about a party?”  
  
Lisbeth turned only her head. “Excuse me?”  
  
“You heard me.” Eagle began pacing in front of the entrance. “I don't know why they left you here alone, but surely it gets boring, just filling orders.”  
  
“Well... yeah. But people are always filing in here, and Agil isn't around to watch the store while I'm gone.” She grinned.” But come to think of it, I do need to go on a supply run. My normal shipments don't provide me with a certain few materials. Maybe if you help me do a bit of gathering, I'll consider helping you get that sword.”  
  
“Consider it done. It'll just be another bounty.”  
  
“A snarky mercenary, eh? It's not like I run into your type at least twice a week. Let's go!”  
  
Lisbeth equipped her mace and shield, then the two of them walked out of the shop. She promptly marked it as “Closed” to all passerby, then sent a message to Kirito's party telling them that she was gathering materials.  
  
Eagle was eager to begin. “Where are we off to?”  
  
“We'll take the teleporter to this area.” She opened a world map. “See this cave? There's a herd of rare boar enemies in there. Their tusks are great for making weapons, but supply is usually low. If yesterday's swordsmanship is any indication of your skill, then this will be a breeze.”  
  
Eagle nodded, and began jogging to the teleporter. Lisbeth was caught off guard, and began chasing after him. Soon enough, they reached the transporter in the center of Ryne, and were given a list of areas when they stood in the glowing central circle. Eagle chose the location that had been specified, afterward being shrouded in a potent blue light. In moments, he was standing in a massive canyon, twisting and turning like a maze. Lis appeared shortly after, and was quick to point out the directions.  
  
“Alright, Eagle. We need to fly to the top of the canyon, so don't fall behind!” She finished her statement with a wink.  
  
“Hold on, how do you know my name?”  
  
“See the second health bar underneath yours? That's where it is. You should know that by now, Mister High Level.”  
  
“I usually go solo, so I don't pay much attention to it. Besides, I didn't need it to know to call you Lis.”  
  
A small blush appeared on her face. “Only my friends call me that! So... I guess you can.”  
  
Eagle couldn't help but chuckle a bit. The two of them materialized their wings, Eagle's being the Imp's demonic wings, and Lisbeth's being the Leprechaun's mechanical wings. They took off, each flying at their full speeds. One moment, Lis was in front, the next, Eagle was. It was as if they were racing to the top. They shot out from the cramped corridor into the evening sky, where Lis started flying in one direction. Eagle followed her, taking in the sight of a mountainous desert. Everything was dry and dusty here. He couldn't believe that there could be boar enemies here.  
  
“The developers must have taken some serious liberties. There's no way boars would be living out here!”  
  
Lisbeth shouted back to Eagle. “Trust me, once we reach that cave, you'll see why they spawn here.”  
  
After a short time had passed, they had located the cave entrance and dove down to land. They spent a few minutes organizing their skills and spells before entering, and as they walked, they discussed a strategy to fight the enemies in the cave.  
  
Eagle initiated the conversation with a simple question. “So, what else can we expect in here?”  
  
“Not much. Some Lizardmen, a few bugs...”  
  
Eagle cut Lis off. “B-bugs?”  
  
“Yeah. Bugs.” She had a wide grin on her face. “You scared of them? I'll gladly go alone if you want.”  
  
“No! I'm still coming along! I'll just... blast them with spells.”  
  
“Speaking of which, do you have any AOE attacks? They make this process go so much faster.”  
  
“Some sweeping attacks with my sword, and some dark magic. I keep meaning to find some players who would teach me fire magic, or other spells of the sort.”  
  
“One of my friends is a Salamander, so he could probably teach you. If he bothered to use them.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Did you see the Salamander yesterday? The one that looked like a samurai? He does his best to avoid using spells in battle.” Lis seemed like she was remembering some really happy moments. “But every time he enchants his sword with fire, I love to call him out on that.”  
  
They both shared a laugh at this. Eagle spent a moment staring at her, with a light blush on his face. He took the time to note all of her features, then turned his attention back to the cavern path.  
  
“Well, here it is.”  
  
Awe overtook Eagle's eyes, his mind still transitioning from the dark, dank cave, to the glowing reservoir in front of him. Lively green herbs surrounded the water's edge, and blue-green bipedal lizards wandered aimlessly. The only light was emitted from the fireflies buzzing over the large aquifer. Natural rock columns adorned the area behind the shrubs.  
  
Eagle was still in shock as he gazed at the area. “Holy crap! Look at all the resources, and the sights! Just imagine what treasured commodities are in here!”  
  
“Don't get too ambitious, now. Remember what we're here for.”  
  
“Right, of course. Where are the boars?”  
  
“Over there, in the back. Shall we activate our buffs?”  
  
“Just the magic based ones. I don't see any bugs, though.”  
  
Lisbeth put a fist over her mouth. "Then don't look up."  
  
Eagle shivered. “Noted.”  
  
The two of them ran to the horde of around eight boars, and drew their weapons. By doing this, the animals turned and snarled at their aggressors. Combat had been initiated, and Lisbeth ran forward to guard Eagle.  
  
“Activate your spell!”  
  
Eagle began speaking unintelligible words, and a black aura began to encircle him. He extended his hands toward the horde, and a dark sphere sunk into the ground. Smaller spheres appeared around each boar, trapping them in place. The spheres tore themselves apart, forcing the boars into a similar fate. Their skin tore into a burst of crystals, and in an instant, the battle was over. Eagle seemed a little disappointed at his quick victory.  
  
“For rare enemies, they sure weren't that tough.”  
  
Lisbeth returned, barely scathed. “ Yeah, their strength is their numbers. That's why I always bring at least one AOE attack. Anyway, check the loot.”  
  
Eagle opened his inventory, and saw a few new items he had looted. “Iviscus Tusks” and “Steel Hides.”  
  
“Are these the items you need?”  
  
Lisbeth had just closed her own inventory. “Yes, that's what I need. Seems like we've gotten enough between the two of us. So, if you'll just hand over your materials, I'll gladly accompany you in your own quest.”


	4. Unknown Sanctuary

It hadn't been long after the duo had finished their gathering quest, as they were just walking out of the underground oasis. Eagle was quick to mention his own desires.  
  
“Alright, how about we go find that sword now?”  
  
“Well, a promise is a promise. Mind setting a marker?”  
  
“Here, let me see your map.”  
  
Lis opened her map, and before she could turn it for Eagle to mark it, he stood by Lis and pushed her hand out of the way. Still clutching it, he used his other to point out a location on ALO's massive playing field. They were both a shade of pink while doing this.  
  
“Um, thanks.”  
  
“Don't mention it. Let me mark mine.” Eagle spoke nervously.  
  
He proceeded to do the same to his own map screen, and a pointer appeared in his vision as soon as his finger had tapped the location. It happened to be approximately 1.5 kilometers away, so they had quite the journey to make. Eagle made sure Lis was still up to the task.  
  
“Looks like it's really far away. Wanna go back and drop off your materials first?”  
  
Lis shook her head. “No. It's only 4:40. I've got plenty of time before I need to log off. And don't worry about Kirito. They know how to get into the shop.”  
  
“Wasn't planning on asking.”  
  
“I know you were. But let's get going.”  
  
They both took off from the cave entrance, and glided full speed toward their destination. Eagle hadn't been to this area in the game, but he couldn't take the time to sight-see as he normally would. Getting that sword was the most behooving task at the moment.  
  
It was now 5:00. Eagle and Lis were only 90 meters away from the Crescent Sanctuary, and they plunged toward the ground to touch down. They landed around 30 meters away, walking the remaining distance. Soon, they came face to face with an extensive staircase. The sun’s rays flared out from behind the structure, leaving the two adventurers in shadow. Eagle bent over in discouragement.  
  
“Great. Just what we needed. A massive staircase to get us pumped up.”  
  
Lisbeth had already climbed up two steps before speaking. “Aw, quit being a baby and get climbing!”  
  
Eagle sighed, and immediately began his trek up the seemingly infinite staircase. Then he had an idea.  
  
“Hold on, why don't we just fly to the top?”  
  
“I already tried. My wings aren't showing up, so maybe there's a magic barrier around the place. That's my guess.”  
  
Silence followed, until the duo had reached the top. The sun was beginning to set, covering the skies in sheets of warm colors. Bright light creeped over the horizon, just enough to provide vision of the ruins. Eagle and Lis scouted for an entrance, looking past tall marble columns, decrepit stone structures, and faded statues. The rocky road beneath them had weathered, and covered by overgrowth. There was no clear path to follow. Eagle found a hatch, hidden underneath some vines. He called to Lisbeth, then cut away the vines with his longsword. After Lis reached the hatch, they unlatched the door and proceeded down the ladder. The corridor below was pitch black. While Eagle could see well enough, Lisbeth was unfortunately hampered by the darkness.  
  
“Hey, I can't see a thing! Is there a torch anywhere?”  
  
“I might have one in my inventory. Let me check.”  
  
Eagle opened his inventory, and found an unlit torch stowed away. He selected it, and it soon surfaced in his right hand. Lis arranged her own inventory as Eagle switched the hand his torch was in, then lit it. The immediate area was shrouded in a calming, orange light.  
  
As soon as Eagle lit the torch, he began advancing forward. “Just stick close to me and you'll be fine.”  
  
“It's not like I have anywhere else to go in here.”  
  
The walls around them were filled with tattered murals, possibly describing the lore of the area and weapons. Neither of them bothered to stop and decipher the pictures, as they were only focused on finding the boss room, and possibly other treasures. A dim buzzing was heard in the distance. Eagle stopped dead on the spot.  
  
“I hear a buzz. Like, a bug buzz.”  
  
“Wait, more bugs?”  
  
“Maybe.” He shivered. “Serves us right for avoiding them last time.”  
  
“Well, I'm pretty sure the boss room is that way. So... good luck!” She ended her statement with a smile on her face.  
  
They pushed on forward, with the buzzing becoming increasingly more audible. Soon they looked up to see a swarm of large bee-like creatures clinging to the ceiling. A sticky green fluid was dripping from their pack. Eagle winced as he looked upon the horde.  
  
“Ugh... so disgusting. Please just shoot them down.”  
  
Lisbeth sighed at Eagle's phobia, and began speaking the words of a spell. Eagle followed suit, using different motions than before. He raised his left hand, and put his right hand to his left side. A purple circle surrounded him. He swiped his hands to their respective sides, and energy shot up from the aura. It encircled him in a black sphere, hiding him from view, then lowered, showing that Eagle had crouched down. He spread his arms outward, and shot the dark energy all around him, causing a large explosion. His eyes were closed until all of the buzzing had stopped. When he opened them, he saw a cloud of crystals fading away, and a menu describing his drops. He looked extremely relieved that the object of his fears were gone. Lisbeth came running back from the darkness of the hall ahead, looking slightly singed.  
  
“Hey, I thought I told you to stick close!”  
  
“There were more ahead. Can't push on forward when you're deathly afraid, can you?”  
  
“Don't say anything about it, please?”  
  
Lis hit her chest with her fist. “You have my word.”  
  
Eventually, the team came across a large gate. On it was a stone engraving of a moon, and a sword crossing over it. As they approached it, a prompt appeared in front of them, asking them if they wanted to challenge the boss. Eagle and Lis accepted, and the door slowly opened to an unlit circular room, with torches circling the exterior. When they walked in, the door shut behind them, and every torch set ablaze, one by one. Eagle drew his sword, and Lisbeth drew her mace and round shield. Both were eager for the much needed challenge.  
  
The creature guarding the Moonlight Greatsword roared a deafening scream before showing itself. It appeared similar to a tiger, and a dragon. Its scales were blue and black, and its talons looked as sharp as needles. A large, pointy tail waved behind it, and it had scaly skin flaps, similar to wings, extending from its arms. A name, and 5 health bars appeared on the two players' displays. “Ecliptic Wyvern.”  
  
As it waited for the first move to be made, it snarled at the adventurers, flinging saliva around its feet. Lisbeth charged forward, Eagle following behind. The wyvern dashed toward Lis, preparing to swipe its claw rightward. Lis blocked the monster's strike with her shield, allowing Eagle to jump over her, and slash downward at the beast's head. It staggered back, and one health bar about drained one-sixth of the way. Eagle leaped forward and tried to thrust at the same limb, but the creature jumped to the side, raising both claws high above its head. It swung down, clashing with Eagle's sword. His health bar drained a small amount. Lis held her shield in front of her, and ran full speed toward the boss's claws. She dove at the two warriors, breaking their clash.  
  
The boss turned its attention to Lis. Her shield was relatively powerful, so she could block a lot of the enemy's attacks with little damage taken. Eagle used this opportunity to activate a sword skill. He held Platinum Veil to his lower left hip, and it began to glow a deep orange. Eagle ran at the boss, and began his combo. A powerful upward slash, lifting him into the air, a slash diagonally down and left, spinning around to slash downward, returning him to the ground, a short hop backwards, and a powerful thrust, piercing through the beast.  
  
The monster had fallen to three health bars, and its pattern began to change. It acted more defensive, using its claws and tail to thrust at the duo.  
Eagle screamed at the boss to attract its aggro. “HEY! Looking for a meal?” He held out his arm, showing the muscle his avatar had behind his sleeved armor. “I can't hold these swords with will alone! Come and get me!”  
  
This pulled the monster's focus away from Lis, allowing her to quaff a health potion. Eagle began running toward the wall, with the wyvern in a strong pursuit. When they reached the edge of the arena, Eagle began to run up the wall, and jumped over the boss' back. While the beast was still focused on Eagle, Lis ran to the monster, and raised her mace in the air. When it glowed a brown color, she smashed it into the boss' back, leaving behind a large amount of sparks. This drained two of its health bars, forcing it to change tactics once again.  
  
The boss opened up its arm flaps, and began to fly around the arena. Most players could not follow the boss at this phase, but Eagle, being an Imp, could fly for a limited time inside of dungeons. Lisbeth was forced to stay grounded, and hurt the boss with spells.  
  
“Alright, I need to finish this quickly, before my flight timer expires.”  
  
Eagle flew at the wyvern, who was dashing left and right in the air. He figured he could end the fight with one more sword skill, so he prepared the powerful “Hades Striker” skill, by holding his sword to his waist. The boss slightly turned to the left, as it saw Eagle approaching. When he drew closer, the boss spun around like a tornado, blowing his attacker away. Eagle charged once again at the beast, and it repeated the same attack. This time, Eagle dove down underneath the boss, allowing him to avoid the defensive maneuver, and continued the motion of his skill. He thrust forward, pulling himself through the boss, followed by three clockwise spins.  
  
The last health bar was drained, and the Ecliptic Wyvern fell to the ground with a shrill yell. Eagle descended with it, watching it slowly dissolve into crystals. A menu appeared in front of Lis and Eagle, showing them what loot they had acquired. Since Eagle had done the most damage to the boss, he received the rare drop, being the Moonlight Greatsword.  
  
“Hell yeah! That's one half down!”  
  
Lisbeth came behind him, chuckling victoriously. “Yeah! I haven't had that much fun in a raid for a while!” She put her hand on Eagle's shoulder. “But now you have to get the other half from Kirito.”  
  
“Yeah. You think he's back at the shop, or could he have logged off?”  
  
“Hold on. Let me check.” She opened her friends list, and it showed that all of her friends, were offline. “Logged off. Dang.”  
  
“Well, I'll just get him tomorrow... or whenever is convenient.”  
  
“Alright. I'll send him a message that I've got word on the sword, and I'll message you when he logs on. But first...” She sent Eagle a friend request, to which he quickly accepted. “Eager to make a connection with me, eh?”  
  
Eagle acted flustered toward this. “What? Um...” He then thought of a quick reply to deflect the question. “Well, yeah! Why would I try to forget someone who's an amazing blacksmith, and battle partner?”  
  
Lisbeth began snickering. “That's all? I doubt that. Anyway, what does the sword look like?”  
  
“Oh, right.” He equipped the sword in place of Platinum Veil, and unsheathed it. It seemed like it was pulling in the light from the area, making it dimmer. The blade was jet black, with a foamy green inscription on one side. “The Moon guides those lost in the night.”


	5. Night's Embrace

Lisbeth had messaged Eagle the next day, telling him that she had arranged a meeting between him and Kirito. Eagle flew to the proposed location, a secluded forest on the outskirts of Ryne, one where he was attacked by mercenaries not too long ago. This could have easily been a trap, as Lis was the only familiar face who would be there. He landed in a clearing around 25 meters from the meeting spot, and began a slow, quiet trek the rest of the way. As Eagle approached, he could hear two voices conversing. He tucked himself away inside a bush.  
  
“-- did you find out that this guy has the Moonlight sword?”  
  
“I raided the dungeon with him! I saw it all.”  
  
“Oh, so that’s where you were yesterday. Why hide it as a supply run? We could have helped you two!”  
  
“You were already busy getting sunburnt, so I didn’t want to bother you. Besides, don’t you think the mystery is a little exciting?”  
  
“Very funny. Anyway, where is he?”  
  
“Try running your Search skill again.”  
  
Eagle leapt out of the bush and chimed in immediately. “That won’t be necessary. I’m here, and I have the sword.”  
  
Lisbeth and a Spriggan, who Eagle presumed to be Kirito, turned to face him. All three of them stood silent for a moment, and then Kirito began speaking.  
  
“So this is the guy. Well, nice to meet you. The name’s Kirito.” He extended his hand.  
  
Eagle took it for a handshake. “Eagle. The pleasure is mine. I’ve seen a lot about you. So let’s talk business. What will it take for Sunlight?”  
  
“I was going to ask the same thing. Do you want to duel? I doubt there’s anything you could sell to me.”  
  
“I was thinking something a little different. The game already set up a system for drops, so why not use that?”  
  
“So you want to see who performs better while fighting the boss?”  
  
Eagle snapped his fingers and pointed them at Kirito. “Exactly. You’ll bring whoever you want with you, just as long as we can fight the boss alone.”  
  
Lisbeth thought differently. “Wait, if you two are the only ones who get to do the fun part, then what’s the point of us coming along?”  
  
“Wait, you’re right. Alright, fine. I guess you can help us in the boss room. We’ll just duel for the sword after.”  
  
“You could have just said that in the first place.” Lis sighed.  
  
Kirito attempted to change the subject. “I want to see something from you anyway.” He smirked. “How much of a challenge will you be in the first place?”  
  
Eagle immediately looked annoyed. “Excuse me?”  
  
“Why don’t you hit me with your strongest sword skill, just for a reference?”  
  
Kirito opened the duel menu and sent a request to Eagle. Before he accepted, Kirito drew two swords from his back, and placed them in a cross guard. Eagle started the duel, setting no special conditions, and drew the Moonlight. He prepared Blossom Dance, performing the blade and kick combo on Kirito’s defensive stance. As he finished, and was stuck frozen, he saw that Kirito’s guard was left unbroken, and his health had only drained one-tenth. Eagle was amazed that he had done so little.  
  
“What the…? What are you?”  
  
Kirito never answered his question. “Not bad. When do you plan on going?”  
  
Eagle stuttered for a moment, and then planned a day. “Tomorrow! 2 P.M! We meet in Lis’ shop.”  
  
“Don’t be late.” Kirito replied with a sarcastic smile. He flew out of the forest, and back towards Ryne. Eagle turned to Lis, staring at her blank expression.  
  
“What the hell was that?!”  
  
Lis snapped out of her stupor. “That’s Kirito for you.” She clapped her hands together at her waist and leaned forward. “I can’t believe you are actually going to duel him!”  
  
“Not in this condition. I need to level grind for a while. And now that he’s seen my original sword skill for the second time, he’ll surely know how to counter it.” Eagle raised his sword into the air. “I’ll have to make a second one, even more powerful!”  
  
“You can make more than one?”  
  
“Of course you can! How do you think people make a business out of selling scrolls when you can make just one? Unless they have a lot of alternate avatars, but who would do that?”  
  
“I guess you’re right. But I wouldn’t make too many myself. I’d lose track of what my signature move is.”  
  
“That’s why more prominent players don’t make more than one or two. They can always have a signature move to call back on. Anyway, let’s follow Kirito back.”  
  
The two of them flew away from the forest and worked their way back to Ryne. About halfway there, Eagle decided to split from Lis and find an area to train in. He continued fighting until he reached level 94, very close to the cap. Eagle looked at the system menu, and was startled at how late he had stayed up. It was 11:00 P.M. in the real world, so he wasted no time logging off. He doubted anyone would be flying around to kill his idle avatar at this hour.  
  
Nishoku regained consciousness in his bedroom, as usual. He removed the AmuSphere, and looked out his window. The night sky was clear, with stars shining brightly across its blackness. He remembered that there was a lunar eclipse scheduled tonight, so instead of going to sleep as he planned, he grabbed a coat and quietly exited his house. The full moon was high above him, nearly impossible to be missed. Nishoku sat on his front doorstep and stared straight at it. Minutes passed, as the moon faded into darkness. A little longer, and it returned, a dim, red circle. Nishoku was deep in thought, as he gazed into the sky. His green eyes shimmered in the faint, crimson light.  
  
“Eclipses are so beautiful. It seems like no one can turn away when they see one. Maybe… this is the answer.”


	6. Blinding Light

The next day had arrived, and Nishoku was scrambling to reach his AmuSphere. After oversleeping the night before, from watching the eclipse, his writings had fallen behind. Putting them over playing ALO, he had passed his scheduled meeting time. It was 2:05 P.M. He quickly removed his glasses, and jumped onto his bed. The AmuSphere was on a nightstand, within arm's reach. Nishoku grabbed it and positioned it on his head. He shut his eyes, and activated the device.  
  
“Link start!”  
  
A bright light engulfed his vision, and colored cylinders flew past him as the system performed a routine check. Soon, his eyes opened in the same spot he had logged off yesterday, with all items intact. He hastily began his flight toward Ryne.  
  
Meanwhile, Kirito and company were waiting for him at the shop. Lisbeth opened her menu to check the system time and message Eagle. Everyone else was either engaged in conversation, or staring at the entrance. Kirito was slowly getting more and more impatient.  
  
“He's late, and I'm getting a little sick of waiting.”  
  
Klein sat across from him, also losing patience. “You don't think he wimped out, did he?”  
  
Asuna sat beside Kirito, still having faith in Eagle. “He wouldn't do that. Besides, we can't leave without him.”  
  
After she said this, Eagle flung the door open and scurried inside the smithy. He leaned over the desk, panting as everyone watched.  
  
“I'm here! I'm here! We can leave!”  
  
Lisbeth looked over at him, slightly concerned about his fatigue. “You sure? You should probably rest for a bit.”  
  
Still panting, Eagle knocked his head against the counter. “Thank goodness you said that.”  
  
“What took you so long, anyway?”  
  
“I overslept last night, and it threw my schedule off. That eclipse last night, combined with my level grinding, isn't a good combination.”  
  
A small pink pixie flew out from behind Asuna's shoulder. “I don't like it when my parents oversleep. It's no fun waiting for them.”  
  
Without looking up, Eagle asked who the new voice was. “Wait, parents? Who's this?”  
  
Kirito calmly explained. “Oh, this is Yui. She's me and Asuna's daughter, who's also an AI.”  
  
Eagle got up, breathing normally again. “Okay... I have a lot of questions.”  
  
Lisbeth chimed in again. “Speaking of which, what do you do in between sleeping and playing ALO? I saw the eclipse last night, and there's no way you could have rested from the time it ended to now.”  
  
“I write novels. I don't know if you know any of them.”  
  
Sinon called over. “I might have. What's your pen name?  
  
“Nishoku Chishi.”  
  
Sinon looked away to think for a moment. “Oh! Didn't you write One for All? That one book where the main character has multiple personalities, and who's body splits into those personas?”  
  
Eagle nodded. “Yeah, that's the one everyone knows. What did you think of it?”  
  
“The premise behind it was a little weird, but the characters were really well written!”  
  
Eagle produced a large smile. “Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Moving on, I assume you're all ready to go, right?”  
  
A collective “Yes!” was gathered from the party. They exited the shop, and after learning each others' names, they all began their journey to Equinox's resting place, Temporal Gate.  
  
Little time was wasted in the transit to the dungeon, a large stone monument, atop a pyramid of stairs, easily visible in the distance. Kirito and Eagle prepared the Sunlight and Moonlight Greatswords to be sacrificed. A short while later, the party landed in front of the rock pillar. There were two holes, placed close to each other, and above it, a faded inscription. Asuna prodded Yui, asking for information.  
  
“Yui, what can you tell us about this place?”  
  
“The two slots are for the two swords, when you insert them, the boss will appear. You won’t be able to use them, so you should equip your old weapons.”  
  
“Thank you. What about the inscription? What does it say?”  
  
“True power is never one-sided. Only when night and day meet, can the greatest of foes be smitten. Warriors, if you seek this divine weapon, display your resolve, and produce the regalia of the horizon!”  
  
After it was read, Eagle and Kirito jammed the weapons into the two slots, where they began to emit a faint aura. Both of them let go of their sword, leaving the weapons' light to grow more and more powerful. The sky filled with dark clouds, and the sounds of thunder could be heard in the distance. There was a flash of light, as lightning struck the tower, causing it to crumble away. In its place was the statue of a cloaked fighter, with their features hidden away by their hood. The swords shattered to pieces, as their light filled the statue. Color filled the stones, and the figure stepped down from its podium. Wings sprouted from the back of its robe, and waved in the wind. It spoke in a deep, menacing manner, challenging the group to battle.  
  
“So this is the group that has awakened me. Hmph. Who shall be the one to attack first?”  
  
The boss drew two swords from its back, the ones that had broken in the monument. Eight health bars appeared on everyone's display, along with the apparition's name. “Champion of Time.” Everyone drew their weapons, Eagle equipping Platinum Veil from his inventory, and Kirito two of his own swords.  
  
“Let us begin!”  
  
Sinon and Silica dashed backward, while Silica's dragon, Pina, flew up above the battle. Everyone else charged at the Champion, with Lis leading the charge. She held out her shield to block the foe's attacks. The boss stood still until Lis raised her mace, then stepped to the left and swiped with both swords. The game registered two hits, draining her health by one-third. In the short stun period the boss was in, Sinon fired an arrow at its thigh, while Leafa slashed at its legs. Leafa struck the enemy, causing it to trip, but also forcing Sinon's arrow to miss. Klein leapt above Leafa, and thrust his katana at the ground. The boss rolled out of the way, dodging Klein's attack, and only having one-eighth of a bar drained. Eagle and Kirito drew back, preparing to launch a coordinated assault.  
  
Pina was still flying overhead, and at Silica's command, she dove at the boss, small bubbles exiting her mouth. As it drew closer, the boss tried to slash at Pina, unsuccessfully. It was again open to attack, and both Kirito and Eagle sprinted forward. Eagle held his sword up above his head, making it glow a blue color, then hopped into the air, high above Kirito. He screamed for Kirito to get out of the way, then slammed the sword into the ground in front of the boss. The slash itself scratched the Champion, but it was thrown backward into the tectonic ruptures caused by the skill, Ray Brandish, allowing additional damage.  
  
One of the boss' health bars had been completely drained, with ample progress being made on the second. Eagle then held his sword behind him, supporting it with his shoulders, and one hand. He ran further toward the boss, with Kirito rejoining behind him. Eagle spun around to kick the boss with the toe of his right foot, after which, he swung his sword upward, lifting him into the air. Kirito rushed in, performing the original sword skill he was known for in SAO, Starburst Stream. A 16-hit combo, combined with Eagle’s attack, drained three and a half health bars on the boss. It now had only three remaining.  
  
The boss began to use its wings tactically, moving from the ground to the sky, and vice versa. Eagle attempted to follow it as it flew erratically, but he could never land an attack. He touched down onto the ground, and as he was recovering from the landing, the boss dove at him, crossing its swords. Eagle looked up just in time to see his enemy cut cleanly through him, draining his health to a small sliver. The boss turned around to finish off Eagle with a powerful thrust. Lisbeth ran toward Eagle to block the strike.  
  
“Don’t you dare hurt him!”  
  
She dove behind Eagle, holding her shield to her chest, but the boss aimed for her stomach. Its swords pierced through Lis, lifting her into the air to hang limp. Eagle turned around and watched in horror as her health bar drained to nothing. Lis was soon engulfed in flames, and in her place was a small ember. Eagle turned to the rest of the party.  
  
“Dammit, I don’t have any Dew!”  
  
Sinon called from across the battlefield. “Here! Take this one!”  
  
Eagle began running toward Sinon, as she held out a small blue bottle in her hand. The item was the Dew of Yggdrasil, a revival item for parties without skilled clerics. Eagle grabbed the bottle, and immediately turned back toward Lis’ Remain Light. The boss stood guard in front of it, preventing anyone from getting close enough to revive Lisbeth. Klein, Silica, and Leafa offered to distract the boss while Eagle used the dew.  
  
“We’ll distract it, you just revive Lis!”  
  
The three of them strafed in variously-sized circles around the Champion, making it lose track of who to target. It eventually turned around and charged toward Leafa. Eagle used this opportunity to progress to the Remain Light, where he opened the bottle and sprinkled the blue liquid around the flame. A pillar of light emerged from the circle, engulfing the ember with it. The light created a shadow in front of the boss, telling it that the revival process was almost complete. It doubled back once again, charging toward Eagle and the nearly healed Lis. When it got closer, it jumped into the air and raised both of its swords. Lis’ body was beginning to re-form, so Eagle grabbed her and dove to the left.  
  
Before the boss could slash at the duo, Klein leaped at its right side and kicked it out of the air. Leafa followed up with an upward slash, then switched with Silica who thrust her dagger forward through the boss’ chest. One more health bar drained, leaving only two. After the Champion’s health stopped draining, it crossed both of its swords above his head, making them glow a gallant white. They both shattered into bright shards, which reconstructed into one single greatsword. Two hands gripped a steel hilt, adorned with a golden trim. The cross-guard had a slight upward curve, with two black orbs at the tips. A shining silver blade, with a black rim along the outer edge, topped the hilt. Eagle and Kirito regrouped and focused on the prize that one of them would soon acquire.  
  
Eagle turned to Kirito. “That’s Equinox? Sure is one hell of a prize to be fighting for, eh?”  
  
“You got that right. Let’s finish this fight.”  
  
The boss also shed its robe, revealing a warrior in thick metal armor. Its head was devoid of all features, only being the shape of a human head. It clouded itself in a black and red aura. On everyone’s display, it showed multiple icons next to the boss’ name, showing that it had given itself boosts in attack and defense, but at a penalty to agility. Sinon exclaimed a rallying cry.  
  
“Alright everyone, let’s finish this fight while he’s slowed down! Show him what we’re made of!”  
  
Asuna, Lisbeth, Eagle, and Kirito moved to each side of the boss, and shot toward it. The Champion kneeled to the ground, Equinox pointing toward the ground, emitting a shield around itself. Kirito and Asuna thrust their swords forward, while Eagle and Lis vaulted themselves into the air to attack from above. Eagle smashed Platinum Veil into the shield, but dealing no damage. Lisbeth was subject to the same failure. Kirito and Asuna followed, Asuna performing Quadruple Pain, four quick thrusts, and Kirito hopping forward to use Cygnus Onslaught, an aerial cross slash. Their attacks, combined with the lingering damage of Eagle and Lis’ attacks, broke the enemy’s shield, causing him to enter a long stun period.  
  
“Now! Give him all you’ve got!”  
  
Silica, Sinon, Leafa, and Klein ran ahead, aiming to finish the boss before he became mobile again. Klein slashed his katana at the Champion’s legs, knocking it off balance. Silica positioned herself in front of the boss, and raised her dagger until a blue glow replaced it. She rapidly slashed eight times at the boss, ducking down at the last one, allowing Sinon to aim a shot directly at the enemy’s head. Her breath became slow, as she spoke a few unintelligible words. She took an arrow from the quiver on her back, and drew back the bowstring with little effort. The arrow shined a cyan color, and left her fingers like a bullet. It pierced through the boss’ head, draining the last bits of health from it.  
  
As all eight bars slowly disappeared from the players’ displays, the boss kneeled down instead of shattering into crystals. It looked up one last time at the party who had defeated it, then impaled itself on Equinox. It shook in place for moments, before bursting into nothing. Equinox fell from the air, making a loud clank when it landed. Eagle and Kirito wasted no time getting closer to investigate. Eagle quietly murmured a few words.  
  
“It's going to feel so good to take this from him.”  
  
Kirito glanced at Eagle. “What was that?”  
  
“Oh! Nothing!” Eagle waved his hands in front of him. “Just that I'm excited to duel you for this!”  
  
Kirito put his fingers on his chin. “Speaking of which, we need to do that soon. When do you have a spare moment?”  
  
“Anytime in the evening is fine. Just name a day.”  
  
“Three days from now?”  
  
“Yeah, that works. I'd like to get a bit of training done beforehand.”  
  
“As for that, I have an extra condition.”  
  
Eagle looked confused. “Wait, what?”  
  
“Since I'll be using my dual blades, I'll let you use Equinox until the duel is over. If you win, you keep it.”  
  
“No way! You'd just let me use a divine weapon against you?”  
  
Kirito smirked. “It wouldn't be the first time.”  
  
Eagle picked up Equinox from the ground. It felt less heavy then Platinum Veil, but still had a powerful swing. He practiced a few combos with the new sword, testing the grip, and the sharpness. At one point, he even tried to use it one-handed, but it turned out to be extremely awkward without the proper skill.  
  
“I like this, a lot. I almost feel bad that you won't be able to wield it.”  
  
“You seem pretty sure of yourself. See you in three days.”  
  
Eagle grabbed Kirito's shoulder. “Hold on. You seem like pretty good people. I'd like to know if you all know each other in real life.”  
  
Kirito turned around, while everyone else came running to the two fighters. “Yeah. All of us except Sinon and Leafa are survivors of SAO. Have you heard of it?”  
  
“When I first researched who you were, I learned a lot about the death game. Glad I wasn't a part of it.”  
  
“I'm honestly surprised. You seem like a person who would have gotten it the first day.”  
  
“I didn't exactly have the money at the time to buy a NerveGear.”  
  
Kirito turned the subject away. “So anyway, you said you wanted to meet us in real life?”  
  
Lisbeth seemed excited at this proposition. “That would be nice to see! Do you live near us?”  
  
Asuna held Lis back. “What she means is if you can get to a certain address.”  
  
“Okay, what's the location?”  
  
Kirito sent Eagle a friend request before anything. Eagle quickly accepted, then received two messages from him. They were a phone number and an address.  
  
“This is the address? This isn't that far away. I'll meet you there tomorrow evening?”  
  
Sinon walked in on the conversation. “Why not now? We've got what we needed. I'm ready to log off for today.”  
  
“Right. I'll see you there.”


	7. Lethal Ecilpse

Nishoku shot out of his bed after logging off and removing the AmuSphere. He wrote down the address and phone number that Kirito had messaged to him. He threw on a red hoodie, blue jeans, black and white shoes, and grabbed his phone and the paper. Nishoku then left his house, promptly dialing Kirito’s number.  
  
“Come on, pick up...”  
  
There were three rings. On the last one, Nishoku heard a familiar voice. “Hey, is this Eagle?”  
  
“Yes! Call me Nishoku if you want to.”  
  
“Good. You know where to go?”  
  
Eagle looked down at his paper. “Yes, I'll be there soon.”  
  
Nishoku hung up, and continued walking into the city. He noticed how similar the route was to the road he traveled to meet his publisher. Nishoku still couldn't believe how well “One for All” sold. Soon, he reached a four-way intersection, and turned left instead of right. A little further down, there was a set of stairs leading down a smaller street. This was where he needed to be. Nishoku kept strolling on the side of the road, until he saw a sign in the distance. “Dicey Cafe.” Kirito had neglected to mention the name of the place, but it did share the right address.  
  
Nishoku approached the front door, and tried to peek inside the window. There were multiple people inside, some familiar, some not. He opened the door, and a bell chimed above him. Everyone turned toward him. He kept silent. Kirito and Lis got up and stepped toward him.  
  
“You're Eagle?” Lis said.  
  
Nishoku nodded.  
  
“Wow. Your face looks so similar to your avatar.”  
  
It was true. Aside from looking slightly more mature, Nishoku's face had next to no difference to Eagle's. He had green eyes and black hair in a crew cut. What was different, however, was that Nishoku wore glasses, had marginally tanner skin, and was missing the wing tattoo from his right cheek. As for his body structure, his height and weight were slightly above average for his age, and he only had light muscle in the real world.  
  
Kirito extended his hand. “Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I can explain who everyone is in a bit.”  
  
Nishoku reached out to grab it. “Yeah, I'm glad to meet you.”  
  
“Anyway, my name is Kazuto Kirigaya. The honey blonde over there is Asuna, my girlfriend.” She waved at the two. “Next is the girl next to her, with the black hair. That's Suguha, my sister, and is Leafa in ALO. After that is the girl on the other side of the table. Her name is Ayano, or Silica. The girl reading over there is Shino, or Sinon. Finally, there's Klein. He’s a good friend of mine, and his name is Ryoutarou Tsuboi.”  
  
Nishoku looked over at him. “There's no way I'm going to remember that right away.”  
  
Klein looked away while replying. “Don't sweat the details for now. None of us use our real names here. All except for Asuna, since she uses her real name in game.”  
  
“Oh, be quiet. You know the name stuck.” She retorted.  
  
Lisbeth appeared from behind Kirito. “Don't forget me! I'm Lis. You can call me Rika out here, if you want.” She smiled at Nishoku.  
  
Nishoku returned the smile. “I'm glad to meet you all. What about the bartender? Do you know him?”  
  
Kirito turned to the counter, where there was no one. “Oh, yeah. Expect a large man coming out soon. His name is Agil. He and his wife own this shop, and she's the one who watches it while Agil plays MMOs.”  
  
Nishoku looked confused. “He joins you in ALO? Why haven't I seen him around?”  
  
“Agil owns a shop in New Aincrad. He usually is running that, so he doesn't have much time to linger in Ryne. We were clearing the castle, until we heard the new quest in the rest of ALO.”  
  
“Okay, what is New Aincrad?”  
  
“You've researched SAO, right? It's the environment from that game made much harder, and ported into ALO. People have cleared 74 floors, but we're stuck on the 75th. We could use the assistance, if you'd consider joining us.”  
  
“I would love to! After I take Equinox for myself, that is.”  
  
“Still acting headstrong?”  
  
Nishoku looked down while smirking. “When you play MMOs for a while, you learn people's archetypes. Mix that with me witnessing your combat style, and I think I've got this duel won.”  
  
Kirito returned a confident smile. “Don't forget that I know yours as well. Remember how I asked for your strongest sword skill? I'm ready to learn how to block it.”  
  
“That’s why I’m going to develop a new one.”  
  
“You are? Well, I’m excited to see it. Moving on, you said you've played MMOs for a while. So I want to know, why didn't you get SAO when it came out?”  
  
“It would take a lot of explanation, but the short version is that I didn't have the cash on hand.”  
  
“Oh, I see. What about now?”  
  
“One for All made me a good amount of money, so I could support myself as well as buy some luxuries. The books I wrote before that, they did decently, but only enough to get me by to the next story.”  
  
“Hold on, how old are you?”  
  
“17. My parents are usually away on business trips, so I live alone. They do send me a small amount of money to supplement my writing, so I do get by just fine.”  
  
“That reminds me of me and Sugu. My uncle isn't usually around, and my aunt usually lets us do our own thing nowadays.”  
  
Nishoku nodded, and sat down to tell the group more about him. A few interesting points were brought up during the conversation, ending with a solemn note. Sinon had begun a line of questioning that challenged Nishoku's values.  
  
“Didn't you mention at one point that you were a bounty hunter?”  
  
“I did. What about it?”  
  
“Well, I was just interested in what jobs you usually took.”  
  
“Oh, anything I could get my hands on. They ranged from simple fetch quests for shops, to the more morally dubious ones.” Everyone became more intrigued on how he would continue. Sinon wanted him to elaborate.  
  
“Morally dubious?”  
  
“Assassination contracts, raiding players with rare items, that sort of thing.” Kirito and Sinon leaned forward, Lis looked somewhat distressed, and Silica looked very stern. Sinon continued to interrogate.  
  
“Who did you usually need to attack?”  
  
“High level players, sometimes shop owners, anyone prominent, basically. How I didn't find a contract for any of you amazes me.” Everyone else winced.  
  
“Okay... but, what about now?”  
  
“The amount of them has toned down, so I have, too. They always gave the best payments.”  
  
“Well, what if I turned that into a real life example?”  
  
“Hold on, are you trying to equate me to something?”  
  
“No, no. I'll save my judgment for later. I just wanted to know one last thing. If you or someone you cared about was in danger, and you had to hurt someone else to save them, would you do it?”  
  
“That's a good question. I assume you mean self-defense? Like, say, a mugger who attacked me, and would kill me if I didn't follow their commands?”  
  
“Anything like that.”  
  
Nishoku's voice got softer. “I'll put it to you this way. If someone willingly attacks me, or someone I care about,” He looked down. “Then in my eyes, they don't deserve to live.”  
  
Sinon stayed completely silent. Kirito and Asuna looked sterner, Silica and Leafa looked slightly fearful, and Klein's expression didn't change. Lis got up and tilted Nishoku's head up, forcing him to look into her eyes.  
  
“Don't you think that's even a little cruel?”  
  
“I don't know about you, but I think it's crueler knowing you could have done something to save yourself.”  
  
“There's no other option for you?”  
  
“If things end up going differently, I won’t complain. But I'm not going to sit around and let myself be dominated by the scum of the Earth. I'm not looking to clean up trash. I'm digging for treasure in it.”  
  
Lis backed away, looking worried. Nishoku spoke to the entire room.  
  
“I'm sorry, but that's just the way I think. Deities forbid I ever get into a situation where I need to apply that thinking, but if you don't like it, then I'll gladly leave.”  
  
Kirito spoke, coldly and commandingly.  
  
“No, it's not that we don't believe what you say. I know the feeling of seeing someone die by my own hands. Sinon knows the same feeling. But you sound like you see no value in someone else’s life. We'll respect your view. But this topic never comes up again. Am I clear?”  
  
Nishoku thought to himself. “And you sound too idealistic.”  
  
“Let's just move on from this rough patch.”  
  
“No, how about I give you some time to think. Maybe what I said was too blunt. But that doesn't change my stance. I'm going to go now. See you in ALO.”


	8. Eternal Shrine Maiden

It was one day before the duel, and Eagle spent the morning level grinding to reach the cap. He couldn't get what he had said off his mind a few days ago. More so, what the consequences of saying it were. Eagle hadn't seen Kirito's group in person since that day. They only messaged him occasionally. The worry affected him in the game, as well. He took more hits than usual in battle, and was having trouble thinking of a new original sword skill.  
  
“There's gotta be a way to salvage this. They wouldn't just abandon me because of something that I've never needed to apply, right?”  
  
He flew over to another horde of enemies and began attacking them with Equinox. With every group, he studied his motions, looking for a chain of slashes. In 15 attempts, there was nothing to be found. He couldn't keep his focus long enough to think.  
  
A while later, Eagle had reached the level cap of 100. At this point, all he needed to do was make his new skill. He looked around at the trees and rocks, figuring out a sequence of slashes.  
  
“Okay, what do I have to work with?”  
  
Eagle walked to one of the trees, and began a simple combo. One downward slash, an upward slash, then a rightward slash after spinning clockwise. He wrapped Equinox around his head and stopped.  
  
“No, that isn't going to work-” He heard a ring. “Another message? What is it this time?”  
  
A blinking light appeared next to the messaging sub-menu. Eagle opened his mail, seeing a note from Lisbeth.  
  
“Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to see you again in real life. Mind meeting me outside the Meiji Jingu Shrine later today? Maybe 5:30?”  
  
Eagle's cheeks flared up, and he began thinking about what she wanted there.  
  
“Um... okay. This is either a date or a cleansing, and both can spawn some problems. But... I would love to go with her.”  
  
Eagle closed the message, and glanced at his sword.  
  
“I'll do it. I should have a little more time to make a new skill.”  
  
Eagle logged off of ALO, and jumped out of his bed. After digging through his closet, he pulled out a black collared shirt, another pair of blue jeans, and an olive green coat. Since there was a gap in between now and when Lis wanted to meet, he took the time to finish the chapter he was writing for his new book, Lost in the Waves. When there was an hour before he needed to leave, he began combing his hair into something a little more neat. After thirty minutes, he left his house and began running to the shrine, excited to see Lis again.  
  
At 5:25 P.M., he arrived at the torii gate marking the entrance, and started waiting for Lisbeth to arrive. At 5:29, he saw a girl walking toward him in the distance. She was wearing a short, pink dress, an olive green scarf, black stockings, and tall brown boots. Nishoku began approaching her, with a small smile on his face.  
  
“Hey, Eagle! You made it!” She said with her hands crossed behind her back.  
  
“Yeah, you picked a beautiful spot to come.”  
  
“Thanks. I just thought we could get to see each other again, since you've been hard at work lately.”  
  
“Shall we get going, then?”  
  
Nishoku nodded, and took Lis' hand. Both of them began lightly blushing, and they started strolling down the stone path. They passed by many crowds of tourists being led by shrine maidens before reaching an intersection, leading to the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. The two of them observed the gardens around them, stopping to take a picture every so often, and simply enjoying the beauty of the flowers. Across from them was a massive lake, with fountains in the middle, and cherry blossoms dotting the shore. Nishoku and Lisbeth sat down on a nearby bench, as a gentle breeze blew past them.  
  
“Everything been going well for you?”  
  
Nishoku nodded. “Yes. I've been working on a new book, and I'll need to meet my publisher soon with the manuscript.”  
  
“Oh, cool. What's it about?”  
  
“A ship captain and his first mate are are caught in a heavy storm at sea, causing them to be stranded on a string of islands. They become separated and have to find their way back to each other while calling for help, and staying sane. If you're interested, it's called Lost in the Waves.”  
  
“Well, since you said you needed to meet your publisher, I assume you have a draft nearly done?”  
  
“Yep. What about you? How's your life been going?”  
  
“I've still been at the SAO survivors' school, and its my last year there before I can go to college.”  
  
“And you want to work towards what in the future?”  
  
“Since I have a lot of skill in the smithy in MMOs, and I enjoy doing it, I'm considering becoming an engineer as a career.”  
  
“An engineer? What type?”  
  
“I'm still deciding between getting a metallurgical engineering degree, or a manufacturing engineering degree.”  
  
“I see. I hope that goes well for you. It shouldn't be hard to tell that I want to become an author, but I actually have a slight interest in computer programming. It's kind of like writing a book in a different language, if that language had no grammatical sense or general formation.”  
  
Lis giggled at his sarcasm. “And I hope that goes well for you. You might be able to learn a little more about programming from Kirito. The guy is a savant at it. You haven't seen it, but he made a device that allows Yui to see and communicate with the real world!”  
  
“He actually did that? With an AI?”  
  
“Yeah, I couldn't believe it myself when I first saw it.”  
  
“Hey, speaking of Kirito, what's does he think of me?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“It's just, ever since I had that outburst at the cafe, I couldn't it out of my head. With how disgusted you all seemed, and how badly I worded that statement.”  
  
Lisbeth looked away. “So that's what you mean.” She sighed. “If I really hated you for it, I wouldn't have invited you here. But I'm glad you brought it up. Everyone else looks like they are ready to forgive you for it, but I want to know what you meant to say first.”  
  
“Okay.” Nishoku took a deep breath. “If anyone attacks me, or the people I love, I'll do anything to protect them. Even if I have to take someone's life.”  
  
“Thank you. Now you just have to tell that to the others. And, I feel like I should tell you why Kirito got so worked up when you said what you did.”  
  
“Did he have some sort of trauma or something?”  
  
“When we were trapped in SAO, there was a guild that only worked to kill other players. Kirito was part of a raiding group meant to destroy them. As he was fighting, he saw his party members dying around him, and he had to kill two different players. I guess the guilt hasn't left him.”  
  
“He mentioned that Sinon knows what it was like, too. What about that?”  
  
“Sinon was involved in an incident where she had to kill a bank robber to protect her mother, and the teller.”  
  
Nishoku crossed his arms, and looked down. “Oh. I wish I knew earlier, because... maybe I could have at least kept quiet.”  
  
Lis stayed quiet for a moment, then looked back at Nishoku with an awkward smile. “Don't worry about it. You've convinced me that you have a bigger heart than you first let on. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day.”  
  
“That sounds like a good idea. What time is it, anyway?”  
  
Lisbeth pulled out her phone to check the time. “6:15 P.M. Isn't the sunset supposed to happen soon?”  
  
“I think so. Do you want to stay and watch it with me?”  
  
A small bit of pink appeared on Lis' cheeks. “Y-yeah! Sure!”  
  
Nishoku and Lis sat in front of the lake, watching as the sky changed from a dim blue to shades of yellow and orange. Nishoku had the idea to take a picture with Lis while the sun finished its warm farewell for the day. He took out his phone, and stood next to Lis with the camera pointed toward them. After he wrapped his arm around Lis, both of them gave a large smile, and another light blush, before Nishoku snapped the picture. He thought a single thing before exiting the lake trail.  
  
“This is just what I needed.”


	9. Horizon's End (Final)

Eagle and Kirito logged on early the next day, and entered the center of Ryne to initiate their battle. The sun shone brightly behind the many inns and stores. Each of their friends encircled an area that served as their arena. Quickly, they became surrounded by other onlookers interested in seeing the Black Swordsman duel another player. Eagle drew Equinox, and Kirito drew his longswords before opening the duel menu. He sent the request to Eagle, and allowed him to change the rules.  
  
“Alright. This will be a ground duel, for total victory. I'm expecting some real fun, so don't hold anything back. Spells and items are legal.”  
  
Kirito nodded. “I won't show any mercy. I hope you'll do the same.”  
  
“By the way, I want to apologize for my outburst a few days ago. I'll explain a little more after we finish, because now would be a bad example, considering I'm about to kill you.”  
  
“You sure sound cocky. Accept the request, and let's get this started!”  
  
Eagle sent the conditions to Kirito, and a countdown appeared between them.  
  
“3!” Eagle bent his knees.  
  
“2!” Kirito shifted his arms into a defensive stance.  
  
“1!” They fiercely observed each others' motions, figuring out the perfect opening move.  
  
“Start!” Eagle lunged directly toward Kirito, holding his sword to his waist. He sliced upwards, to the right, then thrust forward. Kirito blocked the first two strikes, one with each sword, then stepped to the side to dodge the thrust. A gust of wind blew past his body, blowing his cloak to the side. As Eagle retrieved his sword, Kirito countered by slicing diagonally down right, and left, spinning counterclockwise to slash to his right twice, then ending with a dual downward slice. Eagle was hit by the spinning slices, leaving two red gashes across his armor, and blocked the sets before and after. Kirito pressed his swords against Equinox, causing Eagle to struggle underneath. Eagle kicked Kirito's ankle with his right foot, making Kirito lose balance, then followed up with a left hook and an upward slice. A cut was left on Kirito's clothing, and a red imprint on his face.  
  
The crowds behind them were watching in awe, as their health bars drained little by little. People were cheering for both sides, some even placing bets on who would win. Yui flew up from Asuna's shoulder, as they both rooted for her father. Their friends followed suit, except for Klein and Lis stood back, who were placing their own bets on the victor.  
  
Kirito charged at Eagle, raising his left sword into the air. He jumped into the air as it glowed blue, forcefully slashing downward. Eagle blocked the strike, but Kirito immediately used another sword skill. He used his right sword to trace a star shape into Eagle's chest, then thrust forward in the center. Eagle's health bar quickly drained to the halfway mark, as he was knocked back by the attack, stopping in front of two twin sisters. He stood back, panting, as Kirito stood on the other side of the circle.  
  
“Damn... this isn't going too well. I'm going to have to break out the original.”  
  
Kirito called out to him. “Not bad. But you have to do a lot more than that.”  
  
Eagle started to run in a circle around Kirito, who remained idle, and looked completely calm. Eagle slowed down to turn towards Kirito, which is when he moved his arms behind him to prepare an attack. They began to sprint towards each other, Eagle placing Equinox on his shoulder. He slid on the ground, tripping Kirito and launching him into the air. Eagle turned around, and began his original sword skill. He sliced downward, then upward, spinning clockwise to slice diagonally down and right, slashed left, then right, moving on to a double roundhouse kick, slashed downward again, performed a somersault kick to move backwards, finally finishing with a mighty thrust through Kirito's chest. He flew back to Asuna's feet, and both her and Yui looked down on him with strong worry. It was Eagle's turn to taunt his opponent.  
  
“So, how did you like that? Horizon's End. Took me a while to perfect, but... wait, what!?”  
  
He looked at Kirito's health bar. There was a tiny sliver remaining, as opposed to having around three-quarters before Eagle landed his combo. Kirito picked himself up off the ground, and returned a message.  
  
“Now that was impressive. Too bad it couldn't finish me off. You're down to your last legs, and I'm down to mine. This is where things can get interesting.”  
  
He sprinted, low to the ground, at Eagle's legs. Looking both surprised and angry, Eagle tried to retaliate with a low horizontal slash, but Kirito bounced into the air, sliced downward twice, then began his own signature move. Eagle was locked into the most powerful attack in ALO, Starburst Stream. Kirito appeared more aggressive than he usually did, and Yui cheered even higher in the back. Most of the crown followed suit. When Kirito finished his skill, Eagle opened his eyes. Everyone around him stared in silence. Horror flashed across his face, when he saw his HP quickly empty itself.  
  
He kneeled to the ground, panting. Players around him starting paying out for their bets. Before the game registered his death, he held out Equinox to Kirito, without looking up. Five seconds passed, and the sword was still in his hands. A purple inferno engulfed him, soon dying down to reveal nothing. A few more seconds passed, and he materialized in the same spot where he had died, Equinox sitting on the ground next to him. Eagle looked at Kirito, confused, yet also relieved.  
  
“You didn't take the sword. Why?”  
  
“Well, I probably should have told you sooner. I already have a divine weapon, and taking any more would feel a little greedy.”  
  
Eagle now looked angry. “You what?!”  
  
“A few months ago, I worked with my friends here to get the Holy Sword Excalibur. I still have it with me, and I only use it when I really need to. I figured it wouldn't be any fun to just let you have Equinox, though. Not with your skill.”  
  
“My skill? After a victory like that, you would still say that to me?”  
  
“Just because mine are better doesn't mean you don't have any. You did make me use Starburst Stream.” Kirito said with a smirk.  
  
Eagle muttered something to himself. “And I thought I was snarky.”  
  
“Especially since you made that original sword skill with your weapon. Now that everyone here sees you in such high regard, you might as well have a signature sword.”  
  
“I still can't accept. If I'm good about one thing, it's payment for a bounty. I do sub-par work, I don't deserve compensation.”  
  
“Then consider the sword a payment for finding the other half of Equinox. Or even helping fight the boss protecting it. I'm working off of very little, here.”  
  
“Fine. When you put it like that, I can't refuse.” Eagle sheathed Equinox.  
  
“Good. I'm ready to put this quest behind me.” Kirito began walking towards Asuna, as Lis jogged to Eagle's side. “And speaking of putting things behind us, you said you wanted to explain something to me.”  
  
“Right. I just wanted to tell you the words I meant that day, and the words I want you to hold me by.”  
  
Kirito turned around. “Okay. What are they?”  
  
Eagle explained what he had said the day before to Lis, as everyone listened closely to what he had to say. Kirito smiled at the end of it.  
  
“I see. If that's what you wanted to say, then I can accept it much easier. Anything else you wanted to say before we split off?”  
  
“You said you needed some extra muscle in New Aincrad, right?”  
  
“I did. You wanna join us?”  
  
Eagle responded immediately. “Expect to see me there.”  
  
Lis playfully punched Eagle's shoulder. “Yes! That's what I want to hear!”  
  
Eagle rubbed his shoulder while smiling at Lisbeth. “And you're probably one of the better reasons why.”  
  
She returned a large grin. “By the way, you owe me a lot of gold from that duel.”  
  
Eagle sighed while opening his inventory. “This is why I don't gamble money...”  
  
Kirito and Asuna giggled at the duo, after which they turned to each other. “Looks like they're warming up to each other.”  
  
“Yeah. She deserves it after dealing with you for so long.”  
  
Kirito laughed. “Hey, what's that supposed to mean?”  
  
Eagle looked to the sky, where the castle of New Aincrad awaited his arrival. The others appeared at his side, following his actions. A breeze flew past them, as Eagle closed his eyes to think about the future. With one more job under his belt, he felt a rush of excitement he had never felt in the past, and a new determination filled his body.


End file.
